Bright Eyes
by Booklover291197
Summary: Growing up in a family were being halfway sane makes you the monster, what is life like for Anastasia Morgenstern having only Valentine and Johnathan for company?
1. Hide & Seek

**Hi, this story is a spin off from my other story 'The Morning Star'. It's not necessary to read that first but you should know that Anastasia is the result of an affair between Valentine Morgenstern and Amatis Herondale. This series will be a collection of short stories about her life growing up, hope you like it. Please review x**

It was pitch black in the wardrobe, where Anastasia crouched uncontrollably shaking. Pushing herself as far as she could into back she began to pray _please God don't let him find me please please…_

She could her _his _loud footsteps thudding around outside the room

"DO YOU THINK YOU CAN HIDE FROM ME!" Valentine's voice thundered through her terrified brain.

_Please please please…_

"FOR EVERY MINUTE YOU MAKE ME SEARCH YOU WILL GET ONE MORE WHIP CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THAT!"

_No no no please please please not again not again…_

A sudden bang made her jump so badly the whole wardrobe shook violently. Eerie silence followed making her begin to sob. Then footsteps began to come toward the door her heart stopped, she was not at all sure she would be able to take that sort of pain again surely even death was better than that. The footsteps stopped on the other side of the wardrobe door, they were yanked back with to power for the nine year old boy who stood on the other side of them.

Johnathan looked grimly down at his little sister before saying "What did you do now?"

Despite his hard words she pulled herself out of her hiding place and flung her arms around his neck sobbing "You found me."

It was not a question but he mumbled anyway "Don't I always?"

Disentangling himself from her, but leaving his hands on her shoulders, he questioned again "What did you do?"

Hiccupping she replied "I…I…I…drew a rune that set fire to me bed" she looked down at their feet embarrassed "It was an accident."

"Of course it was" he said not unkindly.

After standing in silence for a moment Johnathan turned toward the door.

"Come on" he said motioning her to follow him.

Without hesitation Ana walked after him, only to be met by a shocking sight as soon as she got through the doorway.

"We're going to be in _so much trouble_" she said voice a mixture of awe and panic.

Lying unconscious at her feet was their father a vivid bruise beginning to form on his temple. The sight of such a large formidable man knocked out so thoroughly by a nine year old was unnerving.

Turning back to her from the other end of the clinical white hallway Johnathan said clearly without a hint of remorse "Correction: I am going to be is so much trouble" then shrugged and added, with a hint of impatience at her lack of response "Better my back then yours, now are you coming or not?"

Snapping out of her shock she hurried down the hall and followed him into his bedroom. The room itself was mostly like all the other rooms in the house. That was to say white with one solitary window. But Johnathan had added touches of himself here and there, mostly the mess, a clear rebellion to Valentine's strict cleanliness.

They both sat down on the small space of black carpet that was visible through the clutter of books, clothes and used paper.

"What's the date?" he said suddenly.

Surprised she tried to remember, after a few minutes she replied uncertainly "January 20th"

"Which is…?"

"My birthday?"

"Exactly!"

"So?" she said exasperated nether of their birthdays, as on the few times their father did remember them it was usually a time to realise he did really care much, and when he didn't he spent the days with _Jace_. She couldn't help the bubble of resentment that surfaced when she thought of him even though she knew it was wrong to feel this way, it's not like he asked for the attention.

Rolling his eyes at her reply Johnathan pulled out a single candle and lit it with a match. Holding the candle out to her he said quietly "Today you've spent eight years on this planet, make a wish for the years to come"

Closing her eyes she blew wishing silently _don't let him wake up _she did not care that it was close to patricide to wish for you father's death. Opening her eyes again she found nothing but affection in her brothers normally dead black eyes.

"Open your hand" he commanded.

Complying she felt him press something into her outstretched palm. Only when it flared up did she realise that it was witch light. Unbidden tear filled her warm blue eyes, as he treated her to a rare shy smile.

The spell was broken as they heard a stirring from the hall…


	2. Unwanted

**This chapter is set two years after the last one. Please review x**

Ana, Johnathan and Valentine were sat around the long wooden dining table. The children opposite each other and their father at the top. They sat eating in silence as was normal, considering that the words exchanged in this family tended to be vicious, hurtful or deceitful most of the time all three at once. Today however Valentine broke the silence, both children stopped eating and put down their cutlery as they had been taught to do and listened respectfully.

"As you both know the reason I spend so little time in this house is because I am also raising another child." His voice was unbiased and the children showed no resentment, well at least not on the outside anyway.

He continued "But today that will change, in order for me to continue my search for my wife successfully I am unable to keep looking after all of you. Therefore he will go to a new home and you two will travel with me."

He finished and stood, then walked out the room without a backward glance.

Waiting until he heard the front door slam shut Johnathan said bitterly "Lucky bastard"

Ana looked up "Why? How is being abandoned once again lucky?"

He rolled his eyes impatiently "Because he gets away from _him_" he shot a disgusted look toward the closed door "And all we get is more and more time to be _trained a_nd _disciplined_" the venom in Johnathan's voice was evident.

"I purpose so" she sighed hoping against hope he hasn't right.

Later on that week Ana was sitting in her room painting. She often painted her own walls, not wanting them to be plain like the rest of the house. One wall could take days to complete. The first wall had a forest landscape that reminded her of Autumn, which was her favourite time of year. Another had the night sky with thousands of silver stars and a full moon. The wall, which contained her window showed a golden angel, with his sword out. The wall she was currently painting features a gothic angel covered in blood looking morosely down on her bed.

She was just adding the final touches when Johnathan burst in looking agitated, it was true that he often looked this way when their father was home but he still normally knock when he entered her room.

"Guess what?" he said angrily, flinging himself onto her bed.

"What?" she asked, as she put the brush down and sat down beside him.

"Guess who _he_ went to live with?"

There was no need for her to as who _he_ was, Johnathan always had a certain tone when he was talking about the angel boy.

He did not wait for her to answer however as he continued rapidly "The Lightwood's. Can you believe it?"

Ana didn't really see why he was so mad, Jace was now living with Isabelle and Johnathan with her, the only people here who would have any real reason to be annoyed would be Sebastian or Clarissa, who were both living as only children unaware they had siblings at all.

But she didn't say this, instead she said "What did he say to make you aggravated?"

By this _he_ she meant their father, only he could inspire this much loathing in one person.

This time Johnathan didn't answer straight away, but eventually he said in a small voice "He keeps speaking about _her_"

_Well that explains it then _she thought, if there was one person that Johnathan hated on this earth more than Valentine it was Jocelyn, you only had to mention her name and he would be spiteful for days.

"Oh" was all she could think to say.

She couldn't blame him of course the only time Jocelyn's name was mentioned to Johnathan was to either blame him for her leaving or the remind him how much of an abomination he was.

He blew out a deep breath and said dejectedly "Can I just stay in here a while?"

"Sure" she said kissing him on the head and leaving the room to clean her paint brushes.

When she got into the kitchen she saw that Valentine was sitting at the table reading maps. She walked as slowly and quietly as she could so as not to be noticed, but she failed no sooner had she turned to leave she heard him say sternly "Sit."

Ana had learned long ago learned not to disobey her father's orders, especially direct ones, so she sat down and placed the dirty brushes on the table.

"Have I ever told you about _your _mother Anastasia?" his voice was ice cold and she felt dread flood her heart at the words.

"No father" she said praying he would not continue, but as so many times before her prayers were not answered.

"Her maiden name was Amatis Greymark" he started

_Wait a minute I've heard that name before…_

He must have seen the recognition in her face because he laughed, without humour, and continued "She was the sister of my _parabatai _at the time. She married Stephen Herondale whilst they were young, but then Lucian became what he is now, I decided that I needed to send her a message."

The tone her father's voice took on when he mentioned Lucian's name send shivers terror down her spine.

"I decided to have Stephen marry Céline instead. But there was no point wasting Amatis' loyalty, so I decided that we could have you. Céline and Amatis fell pregnant around the same time you see and I injected them both with angel blood."

She was very right when she had decided she did not, in any way want to hear this. Ana found herself shrinking into the chair the longer he spoke.

"You can out more effective than Jace, which is why I raised you with Johnathan, to try and balance him out. That didn't work well."

_Yes it does _she thought grudgingly _he just doesn't let you see it asshole _

"She hated you"

The words were like slap in the face, but but he continued anyway showing no remorse.

"She told me to take you and never come back. It seems I have a talent for creating and raising children no one else wants."

Anastasia could feel herself shaking with barely suppressed anger and pain.

After a few minutes, in which she was sure he had forgotten she was sitting here, he looked up and said carelessly "You can go now"

Feeling numb she walked quickly back to her bedroom, feeling for the first time in her life true unadulterated hatred for the man she was forced to call father.


	3. The Angel in the Basement

**I wanted to explore what changed Johnathan from the slightly disturbed boy of the last few chapters into the monster we are more familiar with, so here it is. Please review x**

_What the hell am I doing here? _Ana thought as she stood in the entrance hall of the Wayland manor. It had been seven years since Jace had moved out, and seven years since anyone had lived here. The place was a mess, but of course that's the reason Valentine had sent her and Johnathan in the first place to clean up. To add insult to injury he had then told them not to bother packing their own things, they were moving out of the apartment soon, as their things were not _that _important.

"Ana!" Johnathan called from down the hall.

"Coming!" she shouted back, following his voice until she reached him facing a bookshelf in the huge library.

It was like any normal bookshelf but her brother was looking at it, as an explorer would look at a treasure mine.

"It's a revolving door" he said in answer to her perplexed look.

"How can you tell?"

He said nothing, just rolling his eyes.

Stepping forward, he put his hand up and pulled out a book. The whole shelf began to turn and it revealed a flight of uneven stone stairs leading to a bolted door.

Looking down at the book in his hand he flung it away, with disgust and descended the stair with eager impatience. Ana looked down at the book and saw that its title was 'My son Johnathan Christopher Morgenstern' the thought of what that book probably contain made her stomach turn, so she turned and followed him.

Having now opened the door they both walked through into the unknown. Standing in the near darkness, they seemed to be in an especially gruesome torture chamber. Scattered bones, bits of flesh and random fangs were strewn everywhere. Iron chains and silver knifes lined the walls along with whips of specialist demon metals.

Curiosity won over revulsion, but Ana knew she had to keep moving before she throw up. She must have looked determined because her brother didn't try to stop her as she moved further into the nightmare of a basement. He however stopped to examine another book that lay on the nearby table.

There seemed to be a faint light coming from the corner furthest away from them so Ana walked toward it, needing something other than blood and bones.

Her mind went blank with shock as it she failed to comprehend the terrible thing in front of her. In all the years she had listened to her father talk off angels she had never in a million years believed that they were real, just the beliefs of an insane man, but spread out there was defiantly an angel. Golden blood drenched the skeletal creature and its dead golden eyes barley seemed to focus on her.

Still in too much shock to scream she barely reacted when Johnathan came up behind her, his breath stirring her hair. He seemed, like her, to be too shocked to speak.

Suddenly Ana was blinded by the image of two runes, she had experienced something similar her whole life, but standing in the room with the angel communicating with you made it brighter and more powerful than ever before. For reasons she couldn't quite understand she knew she was only meant to use the second one, the first was for someone else.

She pulled a _stele _from Johnathan's belt and bent down to draw the rune on the floor by the angel's leg. The effect was instant the bleeding stopped and the light began to make its way back into its eyes. Standing back up and passing her brother back his _stele_, she wasn't allowed her own because of the times she had accidently made destructive runes,both siblings were suddenly filled with the need to leave the basement.

Once back upstairs Ana turned to see a look of unhidden devastation on his face.

"Did you hear it too?" he asked in an anguished tone.

"Hear what? All it told me was the rune" this was not technically a lie.

As if reading her mind he said sharply "Liar"

Shocked she sucked in her breath to protest but he cut her off.

"It told you not to use that rune and why!" his voice was getting louder as the conversation went on

"It didn't tell me why! I swear it didn't John!" she said desperately

This seemed to stump him for a moment before his face twisted in loathing.

"Lucky you" with that he turned away but she grabbed his arm and demanded

"Explain!"

Giving her a long hard look he said harshly "You can perform those types of runes because they are too pure, you have been around a demon too long your mind has been tainted.

It took her a moment to realise that by demon he must mean himself, she felt her jaw drop with indignation for her brother.

"Don't" he said grimly.

All the same he let her pull him into her warm embrace.

As was costmary for him their father walked around the corner, just as she was finally getting her brother to act human.

"I have a job for you, son" Valentine said briskly

Only the sound of their father saying 'son' could have convinced the siblings that something more important was going on.

Ana was waiting in the entrance hall again trying to contain her fury that was threatening to bubble over at Valentine's newest job.

Johnathan walked to her holding a small box in his hand, looking bleak.

"Please don't do this" she begged

He shrugged and put the box of black hair dye in his bag.

She grabbed his face in her hands and said hysterically "Don't let _him _make you into the monster. It is not what you are that matters, it is your choices please don't do anything stupid whilst you are there."

He looked at her with more blankness then she had ever seen in his eyes before, before saying in a terribly monotone voice "I am a monster. It's time we both start accepting that. Stupid? No I don't think so, just living up to my name is all"

Feeling dread and anger filling her she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before whispering "You'll always be able to be the real human you with me, remember that after you fuck everything up"

With that they walked their separate ways not knowing their paths would not cross for a very long time.


	4. Kin

**This is set roughly after City of Glass, but this is also a spin off from my other story 'The Morning Star' just so you know in my fan fiction Valentine is not killed by Raziel **** Please review, I'd really love to hear what you guys think of the story so far x**

Anastasia had sat in this new alien apartment for weeks and weeks waiting for Johnathan to return. By now she was really getting desperate, even wishing her father would come barging through the invisible door. Any one. Anything. Just company. She had _never _felt so alone in her life. Ghosts of the last words she had exchanged with Johnathan had haunted her dreams, more like nightmares. Eventually as the days had gone on she began to hallucinate.

This was the reason that when her father started to yell at her she paid no attention, instead she carried on drawing the new portal rune she had been working on for the last few days, and hopefully this one could even travel you through time. It was only the slap around the face, which knocked her off the stool, that made her realise _he _was really there, as none of the hallucinations had ever touched her before.

"Are you deaf now? I said get up and help me!" Valentine's voice was a mixture of excitement and fury.

Quickly getting up to obey him they walked through the door, which had previously refused her desperate attempts to go through, and was confronted with two bodies lying on the ground. To her immense relief they were both breathing.

They all appeared to be in a forest that stretched as far as the eye could see. The trees were bare, could it really be autumn? It had been June when she entered the apartment.

The first body, which Valentine had begun dragging toward the apartment, none to gently, was a man. He was well built with dark brown hair, he looked to be around her father's age and was dressed like a mundane.

"I'm going to put it in the basement, it does not deserve to be near anyone else." Valentine's voice was filled with complete and utter loathing, he added softly "Move her gently, and put her in the spare bedroom."

Memories of what tended to happen in her father's basement made her shudder, and wonder if being alone was really worse than sharing a house, let alone blood, with _this _man.

Despite this Ana turned to the woman, looking over at her after _he _was out of sight. The women was about the same age as the other man. She was slender, but she was dressed in full shadowhunter gear. Her vibrant red hair looked even brighter next to the black of her clothes.

Once she had left the women in the spare bedroom as instructed Ana made her way back the living room. Her father was waiting for her there. He was stony faced as usual, but something about the way he stood was triumphant.

Without caring what reaction the question was going to provoke she asked plainly "Where is Johnathan?"

Valentine cocked an eyebrow at her tone, but did not berate her. Instead he turned toward the room which held the unconscious women and said unconcernedly over his shoulder "Dead."

Ana just had time to feel her knees buckle before the darkness overtook her senses.

A pain that had nothing to do with the fall was waiting for her when she woke up a few hours later. Wishing with all her heart that she would go numb, did not work. Praying that this was just a dream, did not work. Punching through the window, did not work. He was still gone. It did not matter at that moment that he had been a demon, that he had been untrustworthy, that he had had a quick temper even that he had been violent. The fact was that her brother was gone. The only person she had ever had or even loved, no matter how messed up they had both been emotionally, was gone.

Needing something, anything to distract herself from her own horror and grief, Ana got up and made her way toward the basement.

Once downstairs, she saw the man from earlier sitting in an iron cell. He looked up at her as she walked toward him. Shock made her stop, and she saw the same shock reflected in his eyes. Clear sky blue eyes. The exact same pair of eyes she looked at every time she looked in the mirror. Except these ones had a ring of silver surrounding the pupil. _Werewolf._

"Lucian Graymark" her voice sounded distant as the name she had heard so many times before escaped her lips.

He blinked up at her before saying in wonderment "Who are you?"

A noise from upstairs, which sounded suspiciously like fighting, brought Ana back to her senses.

Taking one last long look at the only other family member she had ever seen she whispered "I'm so very sorry." Before turning and running back upstairs into the living room.

It wasn't a moment too soon as moments later Valentine came around the corner and went down to the basement, whistling a tune she was unfamiliar with. After a few minutes he came back out drenched in blood, too much blood for the person who had lost it to be alive.

Not wanting the be alone with her own vicious desperate thought Ana went to the bathroom, taking a long hard look at her hated refection before putting a _stele _to her palm and drawing the strongest sleeping rune she could create. She hit the floor almost instantly, but not before her brother face swam before her eyes one more time.


	5. The Plan

**Sorry this on took so long, the next chapter after this will be the final :/ Please review x**

It had been two nights since Anastasia had heard the news about her brother. Deciding against staying in the house with her father and the women, who she presumed was Jocelyn, Ana had spent the days in dreamless sleep oblivious to anything and everything.

The nights however were a completely different story.

She had spent most of her life ashamed and fighting against her gift, but now she found that it gave her an escape route.

The first night Ana portaled to a vampire biker bar in Memphis, drank many many shots of vodka and danced seductively on the bar singing 'Can't fight the moonlight' by LeAnn Rimes. She had woken up in the middle of a deserted warehouse having acquired a large leather jacket with the words 'Vampires give *killer* hickeys' on the back.

The second night she decided to go to a fey underground club in London. As a result of drinking a peculiar neon yellow shot Ana had found herself able to fly. What an odd sensation that had been. That morning she had woken up, glad to have returned to a human instead of being stuck as a raven, and begrudgingly realised she needed to head home before her father came looking himself. She highly doubted that he would, but this way it would be her decision to confront him not the other way around.

* * *

><p>As Ana was walking through the sea of dead trees that surrounded the new apartment, she saw that Jocelyn was sitting outside wearing one of her dresses. The women seemed very distressed. Normally Ana would be the type of person who would go and try to comfort someone who was clearly so upset, but she felt as if someone had numbed all her emotions, so instead of stopping to help she carried on walking glad that she had cast such a strong glamor over herself.<p>

* * *

><p>Once inside her room Ana dropped her glamor, and glancing over the blank white walls of her bedroom, went out to grab some paintbrushes and acrylics.<p>

She began by painting the wall opposite to her bed, small strokes at first but after a couple of hours they turned into broad swirling spirals that reminded her of the hypnotic neon fey bar. Painting always helped her think as a child and still did now, letting her mind wonder whilst she worked a sudden ideas caused her to freeze.

_How could I be so stupid? So blind? _she thought astonished.

Quickly getting up Ana ran, for the first time in her memory, willingly to her father without need for command.

Ignoring the fact it was now late evening she burst through the bedroom door only to be frozen again.

The scene in front of her was like something out of a horror movie. Blood was everywhere. All over the walls and on the bed. It took a few moments for Ana to realise most of it was pumping out of her father's still chest. Sitting up, with the blade sticking out of her own chest was Jocelyn. But the look on the older woman's face was not one of pain but of shock. Shock of having a young girl looking at you after you've kill your husband and committed suicide probably.

Ana felt her own lips moving unconsciously saying the words as the woman fell backward "Ave atque vale"

She was suddenly aware of a portal in the room, near the window and went over to close it. There were two notes one said 'The Clave' on the outside, in unknown handwriting, and the other said 'Clary'.

Knowing the notes must have been written by Jocelyn, Ana picked them up and placed them in her jacket pocket.

Was it weird that she felt _nothing_? Nothing for the man who had raised her, fed her, clothed her…beaten her?

Bu that didn't matter now. Not when she had a plan to carry out. For her brother. For Johnathan. The brainwave she had had in her room.

Anastasia spun around quickly, and without a second glace back at the man she had called father walked out of the apartment door and off to call a meeting with a demon.

The demon _Lilith…_


End file.
